Sunday Reads #3: Cliff Diving, Photo Bombing & Valentine's Day

Happy Sunday!

What ya'll up to? I am down in the Coromandel for a Hens Weekend, probably hungover, (this is pre-written), and getting ready to head home soon.

1. Valentine's Day cat pun printables


2. The reason I want to jump off a cliff real bad


3. Stephen Fry's reply to the question 'what he'd ask god when he dies'


4. Jimmy Fallon, Chris Evans *drool* & Chris Pratt photo bombing at the Superbowl.


5. Cuteness! How to let your turtle roam around without losing him


6. I'm quite the sucker for recreating childhood photos! Aren't you?


7. There maybe more Hunger Games movies!?!

Share your reads for today below!

xo Elise

Valentine's Day DIY: Healthy Dessert Table

When you think of Valentine's Day, you tend to think of three things.. 

Chocolate, Flowers and the fact you're getting neither.

I kid, I kid.

V-Day doesn't have to be about what you're getting from whom. What if you chose to do things differently and make it into a celebration with all of your loved ones instead - not just them romantic ones.

How?

Make a dessert table!

As you may know, it's one of my #YearOfFirsts goals to create a dessert table. I've been gathering inspiration everywhere. Mainly from pinterest. Okay only from pinterest.

I love the idea of taking something traditional and adding a different spin on it. Hence this healthy dessert table DIY. If you're feeling all kinda lonesome or low on ideas for V-Day, and you're not overdosing on cat puns, you HAVE to give this dessert table a shot. Here's how..

• Melon Heart Pops: Use a heart shaped cookie cutter or cut the outline with a sharp knife.


• Carved Heart Apples: Carve a little heart shape into the skin of the apple, then squirt with lemon juice to keep from browning.


• Dark Choc Dipped Wine Biscuits: These are just plain biscuits/cookies you get from the supermarket, get some dark melting choc to heat and then dip your wines into the mix and leave to set on a baking paper sheet.


• Strawberry Parfaits: Get your favourite berries mine are blueberries, strawberries & raspberries - then layer with muesli and then plain yoghurt.


• Cereal Bites: Make this a treat by serving it in a creative way, like out of a cone or small box. Mix with dried cranberries or raisins for a little more interest. Quaker just came out with a cereal, Whole Hearts, shaped like hearts that is packed with fiber and protein; it makes for a great little snack food addition to the dessert table.


• Fruit Smoothies: Throw a handful of strawberries, natural yogurt and some ice in the blender and puree. Serve out of milk bottles.

What would your Valentine's Day dessert table snack be?

xo Elise

Images via Project Nursery

Pop Pilates for Beginners

Pilates has always scared the bejesus out of me.

They make it look deceivingly easy. "Lie down on a mat and flail your legs in the air", how hard could it be? TRY IT.

Thankfully I have never attempted pilates in front of humans before. Ain't nobody want to see that!

As part of my 'transform my body & get fitter' goal in my #YearOfFirsts tag (which you should totally join btw!), I've decided to face my fears and tackle pilates - cause let's face it - when you get to your mid to late 20's, things don't bounce back as easily as they used to, and you've got to try just a little bit harder to keep them the way they are. Right!?

Enter, Casey Ho. I have been a Blogilates follower for the last few years and always find myself being drawn back to it every so often. The reason being is that Casey is so lovely, incredibly sweet, super bubbly, full or motivational spirit and totally genuine.

Of all the at-home workout vids I've seen, she is definitely the best. I think because it feels like she's interacting with you like a normal person, and goes off on tangents about random topics even though she's still teaching you what to do!

She's definitely a virtual workout buddy you want.

Casey created a 4 week beginners plan for people like me who want to give pilates a crack. I thought I'd give it a shot and let you know how I go. I mean, what's the worst that could happen? I get rock hard abs and a tight butt? :P

Day 1: Today was the total body workout for beginners. I lasted all of 5 minutes. 5 MINUTES. Actually, not even that. My abs were quivering in the first 30 seconds. THE FIRST 30 SECONDS YOU GUYS. I have met my Everest.

Day 2: Okay I did my 10 sit ups, and no ab workout. I went for a 20 minute walk that included stairs instead. Back to the vids tomorrow, excited for the bubble butt workout! LOL.

Day 3: Bubble butt was a success! Extremely challenging when trying to balance on one knee, suck stomach in and tighten butt at the same time while lifting leg in the air. But it felt GOOD, like the first step to progress was being taken. I also went for a 30 minute power walk. Love my walks.

Day 4: I really liked today's fat burning cardio warm-up & inner thigh workout for beginners. I lasted both sessions, (skipped the headstand - not ready for that yet), and although the thighs were challenging it wasn't hard or exhausting. It's more mentally challenging with your tolerance to pain levels. Haha, it's only day 4 but I feel like I've made quite an improvement since day 1!

Day 5: No pilates today, but spent 20 minutes doing aerobics!

Day 6: I'm out of town for the weekend, so didn't get to do Day 6. BUT,  I went on a 3 hour walk and bike then went bodysurfing in the sea for half an hour.

Day 7: No pilates again, but went for a walk at the beach!

Day 8: I'll be back on it tomorrow!

Day 9: Started back up again and am a little bit sore today!

Day 10: These side planks are killer! Regular planks are a struggle let alone side planks!

Day 11: Okay the 6 minute sexy thighs is pretty awesome. Kicks my ass but I feel the burn!!

Day 12: Took a break today and went and played touch instead with my work colleagues. I think I should have just stayed home and done pilates. I am buggered!!!!

Day 13: Planks, planks, planks and more planks :'( I do feel like my abs are getting a lot tighter however!

Day 14: Rest day, oh my god I needed this.

Day 15: Went for a nice long flat walk out in the Waitakere's today. It was good to be outdoors in nature and get my body moving in a nice easy way.

Day 16: Back on it! The 5 minute ab express can kiss my butt! Ouch!

Day 17: Great workout today, I had so much energy! Even the ab workout wasn't too bad.

Day 18: Skipped pilates to play indoor netball today. Had so much fun, and got my heart pumping!

Day 19: So there's a lot of ab work going on. I feel myself quivering when I do the exercises but I also feel a heck of a lot stronger than when i began. Dare I say it, I think I have actual abs now!?

Day 20: Decided to take a rest day from all the ab work and just went for a walk around the neighbourhood instead. Saw the best sunset of my life!

Day 21: Played touch tonight. Oh man, so much running!

Day 22: It's the home stretch!! These butt exercises.. I LOVE THEM!!!

Day 23: I love how they call it a quick ab workout, because it never feels quick when you're doing it.

Day 24: I really just didn't feel up to anything today. Had kind of a bad day so relaxed in front of the couch, watched some Empire and ate chocolate. LOL

Day 25: Played indoor netball today! It was a killer game. We won though! That was amazing!

Day 26: Crunches! Ah I feel so strong now! And the soul workout. Damn. Did I just get fit?

Day 27: Okay I actually loved finishing off my challenge with abs and butt workouts. Kicked me to the curb butt damn I feel good!

Day 28: Phew! What a mission. I feel so damn proud of myself for my achievement. I never thought I could do it. But I can honestly say that I am fitter, tighter and stronger than 30 days ago and I love how I feel! This has definitely given me the confidence to continue on with doing pilates (which I thought I despised not so long ago!!!). Now, time for chocolate!!! :D

Have you tried pilates before? What would your tips be for beginners?

xo Elise

6 Valentine's Day Cat Pun Printables

The day of luuuurve is upon us. Will you be celebrating with that special someone? I hope so! Even if it's your cat. Actually, especially if it's your cat, cat's deserve the good lovin' too.

So here you go. Print out these adorable Valentine's Day cat pun printables and give em to your loved ones. Or go one step further and hide them in different places so your significant other discovers them throughout the day. That's sure to brighten anyones day up!

So tell me, how do you celebrate valentines day?

xo Elise

Images via Rebloggy

Sunday Reads #2: Lip Sync Battles, Babies & Left Shark

It's Sunday already?? Booooooo, that means it's back to work tomorrow! Have you been enjoying your long weekend? I've spent mine with family at my cousin's wedding. Today we're all heading over to my uncles for a family feast - can't wait!

For those still in bed and not wanting to get up. Here's 11 reasons to stay right where you are.

1. DIY cascading flower party hats tutorial!


2. Lip sync battle between Will Ferrell, Jimmy Fallon & Kevin Hart


3. LOL. Almost drowning trying to be sexy!


4. Should you give it all up & follow your dreams?


5. Highlights from the bloggers #BrunchClub meet up!


6. My favourite moment from Puss in Boots


7. If you're having a bad day - watch this!


8. 34 Gifs that'll make you LOL


9. If you live in Auckland, come and do this with me!


10. 3D calligraphy experiments.


11. *Bonus* All hail left shark!

What's your Sunday Reading? Send me links!

xo Elise

Two Ingredient Gluten Free Pancakes

I've discovered I really like gluten free recipes. Every time I've tried a gluten free dish either at a work conference or when it's the only option at the cafe because the lunch time rush has cleared all the yum foods, I've never been disappointed. The food is so tasty, but leaves you feeling without the uneasy feeling in your stomach.

Ingredients

- 1 ripe banana
- 2 whole eggs

- blueberries (optional)

Directions

Blend & pour the batter onto your pan. That's it! If you don't have a blender, mash the banana as much as you like - you can have chunks of banana - add blueberries, or whatever extras you'd like included in your pancake batch. Use coconut oil on your pan on a medium heat setting, leave for 30 seconds to 1 minute depending on your stove, flip and serve!

So ridiculously simple, you'll wonder why you never knew about these before today! Fastest esiest breakfast recipe EVER!

Have you tried 2 ingredient pancakes before? What other cheat recipes do you cook?

xo Elise

Images via Cup of Jo

Highlights from The White Rabbit

I felt the nerves kick in as I parked my car. Of course I parked my car at the top of Mt Everest's cousin knowing that I would inevitably have to haul myself back up it afterwards. Call it blogger brain maybe?

In a fluster, I arrived at our venue stylishly early and found my seat ready for my second ever blogger meet up, run by the ladies at #BrunchClub. Here are my highlights for the event..

1 // The Company. Sitting next to the lovely Genie from Bunny Eats Design who was such a pleasure to converse with. We got talking about an assortment of topics; babies, bangs, blog guilt and the fact that we both went to the same primary school! If you're a hardcore foodie, you definitely need to hurry over to her blog. I can't promise you won't suffer from severe drooling though.. ;)

2 // The New Faces. Meeting the wonderful Corinne from Frock and Roll who was kind enough to let me ogle her adorable and super brand new 6 month old baby Charlie. We talked about many things from blog goals and anxiety to aussie bloggers and baby daddys. I've never met a group of people that I've felt so comfortable with so quickly, that we can start conversations about random topics. I love it!



3 // The Venue. I'm a huge black and white decor fan and the cafe reminded me of our family farmhouse we used to visit in the summers when I was little. Simple, homely, yet urban.

4 // The Coffee. You know it's gonna be a good day when your flatwhite arrives with a heart sitting in a crescent moon. You just know it!

5 // The Baby. I was one of the lucky ones who got to sit next to this bundle of cuteness. Meet Charlie. Daughter of Corinne. Well behaved, full of sweet gummy smiles and a little flirt when it comes to pirates. Be warned, if you get the chance to sit next to her, you'll be inclined to forget about everything you were meant to be doing and play with her for the entire event!

5 // The Food. Even though my first attempt at eating my scrambled farm eggs on rye sourdough with dry cured house bacon resulted in half of my sourdough shooting off my plate and onto the floor next to the pirates. These were the best damn scrambled eggs I've ever had.

6 // The Hidden Bar. Which took me to a fantasy of silver moustached gentlemen sipping brandy with one hand and inhaling a cigar in the other. This and the fact that the room was made from recycled materials.

7 // The Announcement. And of course the exciting new announcement Madi and Laura made regarding the direction of #BrunchClub. Find out more here.


Have you been to a #BrunchClub meet up yet? What have been some of your highlights from the events?

xo Elise